JOSE Mourinho played down an ugly touchline melee after watching his Manchester United side concede a heartbreaking late equaliser as Chelsea preserved their unbeaten Premier League record on Saturday.
Ross Barkley scored in the sixth minute of injury time to level the match at 2-2 after Anthony Martial had scored twice in the second half to cancel out Antonio Rudiger’s opener.
Mourinho took exception to the celebrations of one of Chelsea’s backroom staff, Marco Ianni, who ran in front of the Portuguese on the touchline, as he seemed set for a sweet victory over his old club.
Jose’s touchline bust-up0:00
Football: Jose Mourinho tangled with a Chelsea coach on the sideline after the Blues equalised, with some ugly scenes ensuing.
A member of the backroom staff at Chelsea celebrates his sides second goal infront of Jose MourinhoSource:Getty Images
When asked about the incident, former Chelsea boss Mourinho said: “Oh come on, I can tell you that 97 minutes of the game was so good that you have to focus on that.
“I did not get respect back from Chelsea (fans) but that is not my responsibility. What I did here today I will do in Madrid, in Milan, in Porto, the reaction from the fans is not up to me.
“I am not annoyed with anything. What happened with (Maurizio) Sarri’s assistant, Sarri was the first one to come to me and say he will resolve it.
“The assistant has already come to me and apologised, I told him to forget it. I have made a lot of mistakes in my career.” Mourinho, who won three Premier League titles in two spells at Chelsea, said United were the better side.
“We were the best team on the pitch. If you say before the game that one point at Stamford Bridge is a good result, it is so difficult to win here but after the game with the way the game was it is an awful result for us and a phenomenal result for them.” “I hope every referee does the same as Mike Dean and gives six minutes,” he added. “I don’t know where they came from. We always tried to play, there was no time-wasting.”
Pathetic behaviour by that Chelsea coach & totally disrespectful to a man who won the club so many trophies.
No wonder Mourinho went nuts. pic.twitter.com/8jJSOX8BDk
I’ve often been a critic of Jose Mourinho but I sympathise with him today due to the abuse he received from fans he won three titles for.
Don’t get the idea that Mourinho was at fault for the fracas after the game. Ianni’s taunting was the issue. In fact, thought Mourinho showed some class after the game. As did Chelsea, with their apologies for Ianni’s behaviour.
Mourinho:
“It is not my reaction, it is Sarri’s assistant. He was very impolite but Sarri took care of the situation. They have both apologised to me, I accept. For me, the story is over.”
The result put Chelsea top of the table before the later Saturday games but left United well off the pace.
Sarri said his side lost out to United in the physical battle as the game wore on.
“I am disappointed with the last 30 minutes,” he told the BBC. “We could win but at the end one point is enough.
“We were not organised for the long ball, we usually play with short passes so we were not organised for this in the last half hour. This is not our football. I prefer to play our football for 90 minutes.
“I didn’t see what happened but I have spoken to Jose Mourinho. I understood that we were in the wrong side of the situation. I have spoken to a member of my staff and have dealt with this immediately.”
Originally published as Not his fault this time: Jose held back in ugly touchline melee
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